The Latest

In this update from the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions: 

• Center leads efforts to educate policymakers and the public on the Supreme Court case examining domestic violence and guns.
• Advocacy in Michigan pays off with a package of domestic violence protection bills.
• Opportunity for you to support our work this Giving Tuesday.
• Center Faculty and Staff publish papers on Extreme Risk Protection Orders, public opinion, and domestic violence protective orders. 
• The Center’s Spencer Cantrell and Lisa Geller recognized with the Excellence in Public Practice Award for their work to ensure effective implementation of Extreme Risk Protection Orders.
• Center co-director, Cass Crifasi, named winner of a Sommer Klag Advocacy Impact Award for a project to support state-based gun violence prevention policies.
• What you can do: How to talk with family and friends about safe gun storage during the holidays. 

For the latest updates on our work, be sure to follow us on Twitter, like our page on Facebook, follow us on Threads, and you can now check out the Center on Instagram.

On November 7th, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in United States v Rahimi. The Court will decide if the federal law prohibiting possession of firearms by those subject to domestic violence protection orders is Constitutional. Center faculty and staff continue to show solidarity and support for victims of domestic violence, co-authoring the definitive amicus brief with public health researchers and lawyers this summer and joining domestic violence victims and advocates outside the Court this fall. 

Get deeper context on the case and its implications in our updated Q&A with Kelly Roskam or our recorded webinar with our distinguished panel:  Shannon Frattaroli, Kelly Roskam, Natalie Nanasi, and Ruth Glenn.  

Lisa Geller, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Jen Pauliukonis, and Lori Haas

In 2020 there were 111 domestic violence related homicides in Michigan. 58% were committed with a firearm. The Center has a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between researchers and lawmakers to enact evidence-informed policy. Building on success earlier this year with the passage of legislation to establish Extreme Risk Protection Orders and enhance background checks, Jen Pauliukonis, Director of Policy and Programming, joined local advocacy efforts in support of a bill package to prohibit convicted domestic abusers from owning or possessing a firearm for eight years after conviction. Governor Whitmer signed the bipartisan bills earlier this month. 

Giving Tuesday is fast approaching! This year, make a Giving Tuesday gift to help save lives to help save livesto help save lives. 

Your special gift to the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions will help the Center conduct rigorous research to advance effective gun violence solutions. 

Please make a Giving Tuesday gift TODAY to help us advocate to enact lifesaving solutions to gun violence. 

Start your holiday season by making a Giving Tuesday gift to help safeguard lives. 

The Center’s Alex McCourt, Cass Crifasi, Daniel Webster, Tim Carey, Shannon Frattaroli, Lisa Geller, University of Michigan’s April Zeoli, and the Center’s Kelly Roskam  

Last month, the Center and Northwell Health’s Center for Gun Violence Prevention joined Fordham School of Law to co-host the Fordham Urban Law Journal’s Cooper-Walsh Colloquium: Public Health History & the Future of Gun Regulation After Bruen. Scholars of law, public health and policy, and history came together to discuss the future of firearm regulations. Seven members of our team participated in the conference. Following the event, the Fordham Urban Law Journal published articles co-authored by Center faculty, staff, and students. 

Age-Related Gun Regulations and Public Opinion 

Rebecca Valek, Cassandra Crifasi, and Alex McCourt 

Extreme Risk Protection Orders in the Post-Bruen Age: Weighing Evidence, Scholarship, and Rights for a promising Gun Violence Prevention Tool

Andrew Willinger and Shannon Frattaroli 

The Case for Domestic Violence Protective Order Firearm Prohibitions under Bruen 

Kelly Roskam, Chiara Cooper, Philip Stallworth, and April M. Zeoli 

Ellen MacKenzie, Dean of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,

Spencer Cantrell, and Lisa Geller

Spencer Cantrell and Lisa Geller, Senior Advisors for Implementation, received the Staff Excellence in US Public Health Practice Award from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. They were recognized for their work partnering with Everytown for Gun Safety to convene Extreme Risk Protection Order stakeholders from across the country to review emerging data and identify best practices. The resulting report, Promising Approaches for Implementing Extreme Risk Laws: A Guide for Practitioners and Policymakers, outlines successful implementation of ERPO laws.

Details emerging following the tragic mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine have put the importance of Extreme Risk Protection Orders in the spotlight and also have shown how critical it is that stakeholders be aware of these orders and ready to implement them effectively. Spencer and Lisa spent much of this year traveling around the country, working with over 750 judges, law enforcement, and domestic violence service providers to facilitate peer-to-peer engagements, deliver presentations, and participate in workshops. Thank you to Dean Ellen MacKenzie and SOURCE for recognizing their impactful work! 

Cass Crifasi, Center Co-Director has been named a winner of the inaugural Sommer Klag Advocacy Impact Awards. Early- and mid-career faculty members were invited to submit proposals detailing how the $40,000 award would support future advocacy efforts to affect policy in their area of expertise. 

Building on a successful ballot initiative in Oregon, Cass’ winning proposal aims to translate research to deploy state-based gun violence prevention advocacy campaigns to enact firearm purchaser licensing legislation, a policy priority for the Center. 

The holiday season is here and many of us will be spending time in the homes of family and friends. Center research shows that not nearly enough gun owners practice safe and secure storage and that many people are under the incorrect assumption that their children do not know where they store their guns. Before you visit with family, ask about the status of firearms in the household. Safe storage is one of the simplest ways to keep firearms out of the wrong hands. 

The Portland Press Herald: Commentary: Maine's state gun policies are flawed-by design

Center co-directors Josh Horwitz and Cass Crifasi compare Maine's "yellow flag law" to the evidence-based Extreme Risk Protection Orders 

Time Magazine: Supreme Court to Decide Whether Some Domestic Abusers Can Have Guns

Kelly Roskam, Director of Law and Policy, discusses the application of the ruling in the Supreme Court’s Bruen ruling to domestic violence protection orders in the recently heard Rahimi case.

PBS News Weekend: How gun policies affect the role of firearms in domestic violence

Kelly Roskam, Director of Law and Policy, details the current state of domestic violence protective orders with regard to prohibitions on firearm purchase and possession.

The Washington Post Warnings about the Maine mass killer didn’t work. What might have helped? 

Josh Horwitz, Center Co-Director, shares insights into Extreme Risk Protection Orders design and implementation and how they can be used proactively to prevent gun violence.

The Boston Globe: How Maine can start fixing its gun laws

Lisa Geller, Senior Advisor for Implementation, explains why Maine’s current “yellow flag law” is often ineffective for addressing imminent risk.

CNN: The Maine gunman was a ‘textbook case’ for a state law designed to remove firearms from people like him. Why didn’t it work?

Shannon Frattaroli, Core Faculty Member, discusses the unnecessarily complex steps in Maine’s “yellow flag law” that make it less effective than Extreme Risk Protection Orders in other states.

The Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
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